INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM R O U N D T A B L E

Transcription

1 The Honorable Barack Obama of the United States The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington, DC Dear Mr., INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM R O U N D T A B L E July 19, 2016 We write as an informal group of organizations and individuals who are scholars, religious and secular leaders, human rights advocates and practitioners to urge you to appoint a Special Envoy for Nigeria and the Lake Chad Region directly reporting to Assistant Secretary of State Linda Thomas- Greenfield in order to address the multi-faceted reality of Boko Haram, Fulani militants, security and humanitarian aid. As you are aware, the situation in northeastern and central Nigeria and the Lake Chad region as a whole is rapidly deteriorating. There is a growing security and humanitarian crisis threatening to fracture and destabilize Nigeria, the largest economy in Africa, and now expanding to the whole Lake Chad Region. This crisis cannot be left unaddressed. Recent news stories, as well as trips to the region by multiple human rights organizations, have documented the dire reality of the current situation. Thousands are suffering as victims of violent extremism. Whole villages have been burned to the ground with families forced to live in caves to elude terrorists. There are 2.2 million official Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). However, since many IDPs live outside of formal camp structures, the actual number is thought to be closer to 5-7 million. This is a staggering number of people forced out of their communities, deprived of their livelihoods, separated from education opportunities, and left without access to proper healthcare and psycho-social care. The humanitarian crisis is one of the most critical in the world. A recent Refugees International report on Nigeria quoted a top UN official as saying, Nigeria is our biggest failure. Another chief UN humanitarian official described the Lake Chad region as the world s most neglected humanitarian crisis. The Fund for Peace s 2015 Fragile State Index specifically noted Nigeria as one of the most noteworthy states experiencing worsening fragility. According to the report the conflict transcends Nigeria s borders negatively impacting Cameroon, Niger and Chad. According to Foreign Policy increasing terror attacks have led Cameroon to deploy an additional 2,000 troops to the North part of the country. It is not just the security situation that is straining the region, Niger and Cameroon were hosting 100,000 refugees, putting further strain on these countries. In addition: 14.8 million people in northeastern Nigeria are impacted by the crisis (UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs); 2,000 women and children have been abducted by Boko Haram since 2012 (UN Children s Fund Nigeria);

2 19,000 teachers have fled and 611 killed in northeastern Nigeria, with 1,500 schools closed and 910 destroyed leaving education in crisis (Human Rights Watch) Thousands of Boko Haram victims are on the verge of starvation, and in one particular camp in northeastern Nigeria, six people on average die every day from malnutrition and on certain days more than 30 people were dying due to hunger and illness (Médecins Sans Frontières) Boko Haram wives and an untold number of women have faced and continue to suffer ongoing sexual and gender-based violence with many women forced to resort to survival sex in order to afford food (Refugees International); and 13,000 churches have been damaged, destroyed or abandoned since 2000 (Open Doors Netherlands and Church Alliance of Nigeria) and of the 15,000 killed by Boko Haram since 2011 (Council on Foreign Relations) the majority of those killed or displaced have been Muslims who do not adhere to the ideology of Boko Haram. We believe the complexity of addressing these real and multi-faceted humanitarian exigencies alone warrants a Special Envoy. The emerging security threat in the Nigerian Middle Belt further augments the critical urgency to appoint a Special Envoy. Since 2014, Fulani militants have been escalating their engagements across the Middle Belt and are now launching attacks in the south of the country. In the past 16 months there have been 55 separate Fulani militant attacks in 14 different states resulting in over 1,000 deaths. Many of these involved sustained offensives, sophisticated weaponry, and targeted religious and ethnic minority communities under the banner of creating grazing territory. Should Nigeria further fracture it would constitute one of the greatest security threats in West Africa. We are grateful you and your Administration have already designated Boko Haram as an FTO and offered significant assistance to Nigeria. However, given that this is the world s most neglected humanitarian crisis and one of the most significant security threats in West Africa, we believe what is needed is a Special Envoy for Nigeria and the Lake Chad Region. A Special Envoy for Nigeria and the Lake Chad Region directly reporting to Assistant Secretary of State Linda Thomas-Greenfield could relate to Boko Haram, Fulani militants, security and humanitarian aid. It is our firm belief that the United States has a vested interest in confronting one of the worst humanitarian crisis of our day and working to prevent the further unraveling of Nigeria, the country with both the largest Christian and largest Muslim population in Africa. We urge you and your Administration to act quickly and appoint a Special Envoy for Nigeria and the Lake Chad Region. Sincerely, ORGANIZATIONS 21st CENTURY WILBERFORCE INITIATIVE AMERICAN ATHEISTS BOAT PEOPLE SOS 2

3 CENTER FOR INQUIRY CHINA AID CHRISTIAN SOLIDARITY WORLDWIDE CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY NATIONAL AFFAIRS OFFICE CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN OFFICE OF PUBLIC WITNESS FAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL INSTITUTE ON RELIGION AND DEMOCRACY INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IRAQI CHRISTIAN RELIEF COUNCIL OPEN DOORS USA SHIA RIGHTS WATCH Individuals with title and organization for identification purposes Mina Abdelmalak Outreach Specialist United States Holocaust Memorial Museum C Naseer Ahmad Carolina Avila Jaclyn Bonner Howard Payne University Student Brownwood, TX Dr. Amjad Chaudhry Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Michael Cromartie Vice Ethics and Public Policy Center Washington, DC 3

4 Taylor Cruse Logsdon Freedom Initiative Stephen. S. Enada Movement Against Fulani Militia Aurlbrio Fennell Truett Seminary Student Baylor University Pastor Bob Xiqiu Fu Founder and ChinaAid Midland, TX Katie Gorka Council on Global Security McLean, VA Lauren Homer Law and Liberty Trust Dr. Joel C. Hunter Senior Pastor Northland, A Church Distributed Sean McAndrews Brent McBurney & CEO Advocates International Greg Mitchell, The Mitchell Firm Co-Chair, International Religious Freedom Roundtable Russell Moore Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission Washington, D.C. Scott Morgan Red Eagle Enterprises 4

5 Robert Nicholson Executive Director The Philos Project New York, NY Olajide Pedro James Porter Baylor University Student Eric Roux European Interreligious Forum for Religious Freedom Rhett Self Nina Shea Director Hudson Institute's Center for Religious Freedom Scott L. Stearman, Ph.D. Pastor, Metro Baptist Church Liaison, United Nations (CBF) Daniel West Baylor University Student The Reverend Dr. William E. Wilson St. Augustine of Canterbury Anglican Church Leesburg, VA 5